Beyond the Curtain 

Exploring the thorny issue of 'Hell' and what it truly means

A church in Colchester is currently appealing against a Community Protection Notice on street preaching by its members, which limits their use of sound amplification. More significantly, it proscribes against references to hell, stating that street preaching on this topic has led to “harassment, alarm and distress”, and to a “detrimental effect on the community”. 

The ongoing story raises a number of issues, not least the actual meaning of the word ‘hell’ in a biblical context. Few doctrines are as widely misunderstood as hell, yet few, when rightly understood, reveal the heart of God with such clarity. To approach this subject faithfully, we must begin not with fear-driven imagery or cultural caricature, but with relationship, with what humanity was created for and what was lost when that relationship was broken.

The tragedy of the fall

In Eden, humanity lived in unbroken communion with God. Adam and Eve were not simply placed in a garden; they were formed for fellowship with their Creator. God’s nearness was their peace, His covering their protection and His voice the source of their identity. Life flowed naturally and without strain because it flowed from Him. There was no striving for meaning, no fragmentation of the self and no awareness of absence. To be human was to live in the presence of God.

Adam and Eve were not simply placed in a garden; they were formed for fellowship with their Creator.

When pride entered the human story, it did not arrive as open rebellion but as a subtle persuasion that independence from God might lead to a fuller life. The moment humanity stepped outside God’s covering, the warmth of communion gave way to the coldness of separation. Isaiah articulates this fracture with sober precision when he writes that iniquity separates humanity from God. The great loss of the fall was not primarily the introduction of pain or death, but the severing of fellowship with the One who is the source of all life. Where the presence of God brings clarity, belonging and peace, separation produces restlessness, fear and a persistent sense of spiritual exile that no earthly comfort can fully remedy.

The absence of God’s presence

It is here that the true nature of hell begins to emerge. Hell is not defined first by physical torment or dramatic imagery, but by separation from God. It is the absence of His presence and, as a result, the absence of His love, His peace, His protection and His sustaining grace. It is existence cut off from the One who holds all things together, the continuation of a rupture that began in Eden and, if left unhealed, extends into eternity.

Hell is not defined first by physical torment or dramatic imagery, but by separation from God.

A God who pursues

Yet Scripture does not present a God who withdraws from separated humanity, but a God who relentlessly pursues. From the moment Adam hid among the trees, God moved toward him. Through covenants, prophets and repeated acts of mercy, He revealed a heart committed to restoration rather than destruction. God declares through Ezekiel that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires that they turn and live. When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, lamenting that its people would not come to Him, He revealed the grief of a Father who watches His children choose distance over intimacy. Separation was never God’s intention, and it grieves Him profoundly.

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament reflected this longing for reconciliation, yet it also exposed its own limitations. Though sacrifices provided temporary covering, they could not cleanse the human heart or restore full access to God’s presence. Humanity required more than forgiveness; it required cleansing, renewal and the reopening of the way into communion. Isaiah’s promise, that scarlet sin would be made white as snow, pointed forward to a work only the Messiah could accomplish.

Jesus bore the essence of hell for us

At the cross, Jesus entered fully into the separation humanity had chosen. Scripture tells us that He became sin for us, and in doing so experienced the weight of distance from the Father that sin produces. His anguished cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” reveals not a loss of faith, but the depth of the separation He endured. This was not merely physical suffering, but the tearing of communion itself. In that moment, Christ bore the essence of hell so that humanity might never have to experience eternal separation from God.

In that moment, Christ bore the essence of hell so that humanity might never have to experience eternal separation from God.

The significance of this moment was made unmistakably clear when, at Jesus’ death, the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. This veil had symbolised the barrier between a holy God and sinful humanity, permitting access to His presence only under strict and limited conditions. Its tearing declared that the barrier had been removed, not by human effort, but by divine sacrifice. As the writer of Hebrews affirms, believers now have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. What was closed in Eden was reopened at Calvary.

Restoration of relationship 

The blood of Christ does not merely pardon wrongdoing; it restores relationship. It cleanses the heart, heals the rupture of separation and draws humanity back into the communion for which it was created. Yet, although access has been restored, God does not compel relationship. The cross removed every barrier except the human will, for love cannot be forced without ceasing to be love.

This is where hell becomes an eternal reality. Hell is not God abandoning humanity, but humanity persistently choosing to remain outside the presence of God. Pride convinces the human heart that it can exist independently of its Creator, even as grace calls it home. Jesus taught that judgement rests not on the presence of sin, for sin was fully dealt with at the cross, but on whether a person receives or rejects the One who came to save.

Our choice for eternity

The two criminals crucified alongside Jesus provide a striking picture of this choice. Both were close to the Saviour, both heard His words, and both stood at the threshold of eternity, yet their responses diverged sharply. One hardened his heart and resisted grace, while the other turned toward Christ in humility and asked to be remembered. In that moment, heaven and hell were revealed not as arbitrary destinations, but as the outcome of relationship either embraced or refused.

In hell, there is no love, because love flows from God. There is no peace, because peace is His gift. There is no protection, comfort, hope or light, because every good and perfect thing finds its source in His presence. Hell is the full weight of what existence becomes when the soul remains eternally separated from its Creator.

Scripture teaches that history is moving toward a moment when every choice will be honoured.

Scripture teaches that history is moving toward a moment when every choice will be honoured. Those who embrace Christ will enter the restored creation, where God dwells with His people and all that was lost is made new. Those who refuse Him will remain in the separation they have chosen; a reality Scripture describes as the second death. Hell is not God’s rejection of humanity, but humanity’s final refusal of God.

Heaven, by contrast, is communion restored and life returned to its intended order, filled with the love, peace, joy and light that flow from God alone. Christ has broken the barrier, restored access and called humanity back into the communion we were created to enjoy. The question that remains is one only the human heart can answer, for eternity unfolds from the posture we take toward Him.

Scriptural references: Genesis 1–3; Isaiah 1, 59; Ezekiel 18, 33; Matthew 27; Hebrews 9–10; Revelation 20–21.

^{Image by Micha on pixabay.com}

Hannah Damary-Wilson is Commercial Director at Specialist Wind Services, working across the UK’s onshore and offshore wind sector. She is a mother of four, attends Powerhouse Church in Doncaster, and is currently writing her first book, Diary of a Disciple.